Hello Tribe Fans Everywhere!

They leave Cleveland with fond memories, but that never guarantees a warm welcome home. For proof, ask Jim Thome. When he returned to Cleveland last year as a member of the Chicago White Sox, Thome was booed unmercifully. Same with Mike Hargrove last night, even though Hargrove had been a popular player, coach and manager with the Indians for nearly two decades.

Hargrove still received a nice ovation when he was introduced to the crowd on opening day last month -- the first opening day, that is. He blew it that night by protesting that his players couldn't see through the snowstorm -- the one that eventually wiped out what looked to be a sure win by the Tribe.

"I knew I had only one chance with the umpires, but, fortunately, it worked," Hargrove said.

Last night, when Seattle returned to Jacobs Field to replay the game, there were no snow flurries to rescue the Mariners this time. Some timely hitting by Casey Blake, Josh Barfield and Grady Sizemore in the late innings propelled the Indians to a 5-2 triumph. It matched the Tribe's best-ever start at home.

Another former Indian who returned to Cleveland for the first time since he was traded last summer was Ben Broussard. The affable Broussard, who became quite popular along Lake Erie's shoreline for his skill as a rock and roll musician, was batting .321 when the Tribe sent him packing last July to the great Pacific Northwest.

Broussard is a classic streak hitter, but he's yet to find a home in Seattle. He's been playing mostly right and left field, and it appears his days as a first baseman might be over -- at least as long as Richie Sexson mans that spot for the Mariners.

When Benny came to bat as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning of last night's game, he heard a lot more boos than cheers from the Cleveland faithful. Then, when he ripped a single, he solidified his credentials as an outsider.

Fans can be fickle. When Albert Belle was shoving cameramen, cursing female reporters and trying to run down trick or treaters, Indians fans loved the guy. Not for those antics, of course, but for his slugging exploits. Then, when he bolted the Tribe for the White Sox, he became public enemy No. 1 in Cleveland.

Even Sandy Alomar Jr., who was revered for more than a decade in Cleveland, was booed lustily once he became an ex-Tribesman. Ain't baseball great.

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That was an alarming column by Sheldon Ocker in the Akron Beacon Journal on Fernando Cabrera. Ocker believes Cabrera might be suffering from some kind of mental block that prevents him from making decent pitches. He equated it with the same type of malady that ended Steve Blass' career in Pittsburgh three decades ago.

The Indians are really in a spot with Cabrera. He's out of options, so they can't send him down, and he would almost certainly get claimed on waivers by teams that covet his skills. It's really a puzzling shame.

Worst of all for the Indians, Cabrera seemed to lose it the minute Cleveland decided to give up on Jason Davis, another talented reliever who could never seem to harness his skills. Davis is now a member of the Mariners and has pitched in three games thus far.

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The answer to the last quickie quiz: Fausto Carmona was barely 17 when he started pitching in the Indians farm system.

Today's quiz: Name the former Indians manager who left the club with great bitterness in 1974, only to land a Coors distributorsgip in Houston, which eventually earned him millions of dollars.

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-- Kevin Cuneo